Police Incident Reports A Selection of Noteworthy Incident Reports

Incidents listed are selected by the Officer In Charge of each shift that may have significant public interest.
Incidents listed are not inclusive of all incidents. To view Calls for Services information, please visit CrimeReports.com. Requests for information can be directed to the MPD Records Unit: (608) 266-4075.

Incident Report for Case #2014-14668

Incident Type

Residential Burglary

Incident Date

01/14/2014 - 9:30 PM

Address

700 block Spruce St.

Arrested

Male, age 39, MadisonSuspect was arrested for Burglary, Damage to Property, and Retail Theft.

Victim(s)

Female, age 39, Madison

Details

It was a circumstantial case to be sure, beer and hotdogs mostly, but in the end the preponderance of evidence did lead to probable cause, and an arrest.

The MPD had been dispatched to separate calls Tuesday night: one a burglary, the other a shoplifting. Initially it did not appear they were linked, until it was determined hotdogs found in the retail theft suspect's backpack likely came from a nearby Spruce St. home where other officers were investigating a break-in.

At that scene, there was a single beer bottle, outside the home, resting in the snow. Its base was similar in size to a hole that had been left in a broken front door window. It was through it that a burglar had gained access to the home's interior, leaving a trail of wet footprints.

The bottle's brand was the same as two 4-packs allegedly taken by the suspect from Copps, 1312 S. Park St. Trained observers noted one 4-pack was now down to three. A bottle was missing. Where could it be?

The officer, at the retail theft scene, had made no connection until he offered the suspect a ride home. He did so because the man appeared intoxicated, and there was concern for his safety.

The man said he could be dropped off at a friend's house, which turned out to be the burglarized home. His friend is a tenant, but had not been home that night.

The home's owner, a 39-year old woman, recognized the suspect as someone who had visited her roommate in the past. He denied being there that night, and she had yet to determine what, if anything had been stolen in the burglary.

This is where hotdogs come in. The suspect claimed that which was in his backpack were his.

Police asked the victim if she also eats hotdogs. She said she does, and that, in fact, there is a package in the fridge. The officer asked her to check it, and to her surprise, it was gone. She was asked to describe the missing: "Definitely jumbo wieners, not made with beef, mostly chicken and turkey," she remembered.

Officers asked the suspect to describe his: For sure, they were frankfurters, beef infused hotdogs, he insisted.

Police also spoke with him about the beer bottle encased in snow, near the broken window. "It is possible for beer to be in two places at one time," pontificated the man, adding the homeowner must have purchased the same brand as he.

But, circumstantial evidence was building. The hotdogs were not beef infused at all, they were what the victim had described: unopened jumbo wieners, made with chicken and turkey, with just a little bit of pork.

Putting it all together, officer believed they had wrapped up not just one, but two cases.